The men’s lacrosse team got off to a 3–1 start this year, which earned the squad a No. 11 ranking in the Division I coaches’ poll. Princeton defeated Manhattan, Hofstra, and Johns Hopkins on successive Saturdays in February before falling to No. 10 Maryland 11–4 on March 7.
The Johns Hopkins game was particularly wild. Princeton jumped out to a 7–0 lead before the Blue Jays rallied to go ahead 14–12 midway through the fourth quarter. The Tigers tied the game at 15 on a goal by Ryan Ambler ’16 with seven seconds left and won it on a score by Gavin McBride ’17 in overtime. Zach Currier ’17 was named the national player of the week for scoring two goals, adding three assists, and winning six of eight faceoffs, including the one at the start of overtime.
Maryland proved a tougher assignment. The Terrapins have the nation’s best defense and perhaps the best faceoff man in senior Charlie Raffa, who controlled possession by winning 13 of 20 draws. Princeton suffered from the absence of starting defenseman Mark Strabo ’16 and starting longstick midfielder Will Reynolds ’17. Both players missed the Maryland, Johns Hopkins, and Hofstra games because of concussions.